Dog Breed Info

Distinct dog breeds have existed since man first decided that it might be a good idea to selectively breed dogs in order to accentuate certain desirable characteristics.

In the most liberal interpretation of the term, a breed is a group of individual dogs that look the same and have similar behavior patterns. They generally come from a set of ancestors with those same characteristics. And they also ‘breed true’, meaning that they pass those characteristics on to their young.

A dog is identified as a member of a breed through a written record of ancestry called a stud book, which is dog breed info normally maintained by breed clubs or organizations.

There are literally hundreds of dog breeds of every conceivable size, build, coat color and texture, making dogs unique among all animals in terms of diversity. Amazing when you consider that they all share a common ancestor.

In addition to their similar appearance dogs of the same breed also display similar behaviors primarily due to the job they were originally bred for. So a Labrador Retriever will chase and retrieve a ball almost to the point of exhaustion, while a Bulldog wouldn’t bother unless you toss it next to him on the couch!